BY DAN

Kaeo Weekes tore the Papua New Guinean Prime Minister’s XIII a new one. Two tries underscored his dominance. Every touch felt electric, promising something great. Michael Ennis praised him with the most eloquent and grandiose prose he could muster. What does this mean for the Raiders?

Weekes was very good, there is no doubt about that. His two tries understate his impact. Every time he was around the ball the collective eye of the defence shifted to his whereabouts. But he was doing this against what was essentially a NSW Cup team, on a very hot day, out of season. Michael Ennis getting all hot and heavy could politely be described as poetic licence, if one considered Mick a poet (why the hell not. He has a certain way with words after all). The conditions suited Weekes and he took full advantage. The bar mightn’t have been high, but he leaped over that thing like it was a KIA at a dunk comp.

But it’s less the excitement from this game and more that he confirmed so much of what we learned in 2024. Weekes showed all the things we loved about his game at fullback. Pace and power. Enough creativity to keep tacklers around him in two minds, and allow him to isolate defenders in the line one-on-one. A big enough motor to take advantage of a tiring defence. Oh and pace. Did we mention that?

We saw plenty of this at the back end of the NRL season, as Weekes became increasingly comfortable as an every-game fullback. More than once he created a try for the Milk because he hit the afterburners and left everyone wondering what was going on. So it’s not so much we got to see something new, but more got a timely reminder of just how talented he is, and that what was a ‘maybe’ before 2024 is now a ‘definitely’. Combine that with the improvements he’s made in other parts of his game (defence, and under the high ball) and one might think he’s sure thing to start *somewhere* in 2025.

That then becomes the question. It’s less that we’ve found something new but more that we’re now sure we have a starter. Weekes played 1,6,7 this season and even offered to play 9. He might be a 14 if you had a nine that you were comfortable running most of the game with (and were comfortable with Kaeo defending in the middle – not sure about that). This flexibility will lead for calls for him at every position. There will be a tendency to play fantasy football and get him in a side alongside more than two other playmakers.

But there’s only one ball, and Kaeo unquestionably looked happiest at fullback this season, something underscored by this performance. The things he does well are suited to the position. He’s a great and fast runner, and capable of taking on the line. He can do enough creative things to be the secondary playmaker on shifting movements. His pace terrifies defences, and having him there would open up options around the front-line ball players, and maybe even allow Matt Timoko to take a run or two at an isolated defender. What a dream.

None of that is new, and the best things he did in this game were characteristic rather than surprising. What is new is that the performances continue to be so strong that there is no question he should be the round one number one for 2025. That means Chevy Stewart is playing Cup, and that may make people nervous. Stewart came to the club to get a faster pathway to first grade, and this is another obstacle getting in his way. There’s always a risk that alters the Origin u19 cabal’s sweetness for Canberra, but you would assume Stick can manage that. That’s why he has an 18 year contract.

It’s an easy sell in the short-to-medium term. When Stewart played last year he felt like me with the treadmill on 16kph. Yeah sure I can keep up for a sec but the connection to the pace and power required always felt just a bit beyond the reach. Time and opportunities to develop will be useful to him, and as we see every year, there are always opportunities for emerging players to get a run in first grade due to injury and whatnot (whatnot being Sticky).

Weekes’ continued emergence, demonstrated in this game, just gives the Raiders the gift of time, and the ability to put eggs in a couple of different receptacles. Stewart may well end up a blond Tedesco. I think he will. But Weekes’ performance means that doesn’t have to be forced. Stewart can be brought along with patience. Maybe he wrestles the spot off Kaeo in 2025. Maybe it’s 2026. Maybe it’s never. Nothing is promised in professional sport.

But it doesn’t matter right now. Canberra now enter 2025 with three of their four spine spots with not just clear, quality starters, but also pipelines to push them in the coming years. It’s a good place to be.

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